Rebels’ Reward
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Numbers 20:12 NASB
Not believed Me – It seems like such a trifling matter. It seems perfectly justifiable. In fact, the result is the same, or so it seems. But Moses and Aaron lost a precious objective in this momentary display. We know what happened. What we might not know is why it happened.
God tells Moses to speak to the rock and it will produce water. Moses, furious with the obstinacy of the people, strikes the rock twice. Water still comes forth, but God calls Moses to the bar. Notice what God does not say. He doesn’t say, “Why did you strike the rock?” He doesn’t say, “Why didn’t you listen to Me?” He says, “Why didn’t you believe Me?” We might object, “But, Lord, Moses did believe You. He acted upon the rock, fully believing that water would come forth. And the proof of his belief is that water did come forth. The ends justifies the means. He accomplished what You intended.” That excuse might seem valid until we read the Hebrew. The translation “not believed Me” is from the Hebrew lo-he’emantem. This is the combination of lo, the strong negative (not), and ‘aman, a verb meaning to be firm, to build up, to establish. This combination suggests two important ideas. First, Moses’ action was not merely a momentary failure. The strong negative implies the action was not a result of circumstances, an accidental misstep. This is the lo of the Ten Commandments – absolute prohibitions – the equivalent of “do not ever.” It is not ‘al, a less intensive negation that suggests circumstantial consideration. When God uses this adverb, He strongly condemns Moses’ action. Secondly, the verb ‘aman is primarily about providing stability. It implies trustworthiness and reliability. Moses’ action usurps the declaration of YHWH. By not following YHWH’s command, Moses displays a disregard for the Lord’s directive and that suggests God’s word is not utterly reliable. The final element here is that Moses displays this lack of trust in front of the people, thereby diminishing the reliability of YHWH in the eyes of His chosen ones.
Notice that even though the result is the same, what matters to God is the means, not the ends. Moses’ action insults God’s character. It doesn’t matter that Moses reacts to a lifetime of frustration with an obdurate population. What matters is God! Moses diminishes God’s character and that cannot be ignored. Moses is God’s man, the man God chose to lead His people out of bondage. As such, Moses is to represent God’s character at all times and in all ways. A leader represents the one who empowers him. Moses failed.
We might have imagined this was such a small thing that God would overlook it and forgive Moses. After all, it was really the fault of the stubborn people. But our rationalizations fall on deaf divine ears. It isn’t the fault of the people. It is the fault of not believing God. God does exactly what He says He will do. “I will be who I will be” doesn’t make mistakes and it is a terrible mistake not to trust Him. A small misstep can impugn the glory of the Lord. There is a price to pay for this lack of attention to the details. God can certainly accomplish what He wills without the intermediary of human hands, but when He asks for our cooperation, He looks for our strict obedience, not our substitutions to reach the goal. How we accomplish what God asks is far more important than what we accomplish.
You and I are working toward objectives God has provided. Are we paying attention to the how more than the what? Do we really believe Him?
Topical Index: not believed Me, lo-he’emantem, lo, ‘aman, Moses, Numbers 20:12
A Personal Request: Most of you know that my daughter, Rachel, joined the Navy and is now in boot camp. If you would be so kind as to send her a note of encouragement, it would mean a lot to her – and to me. Just a small note would do. If this is something you would like to do, her address is:
SR Moen, Rachel
Ship 3 Div 148
3600 Ohio Street
Great Lakes, IL 60088-3156
She has 3 weeks to go. Thank you.
Skip
Are we paying attention to the how more than the what? Do we really believe Him?
Heed: pay attention
Hearken: listening with the intention to “carry out” the instructions
Shema: listen and obey
G-d spoke unto Adam (and Eve)- “don’t eat the fruit” (LSV-long story short version). What were His instructions to the First Couple? Did they heed? Did they hearken? Did they ‘shema’ the words of the LORD? –
Starting with the first pair and traveling down throughout the timeline of history, let us look at some Biblical characters together. Name a few and review their stories, -the good, the bad and the ugly. Did they listen and did they obey? When “they” obeyed G-d what occurred? When “they” disobeyed G-d what occurred? When “I” obey G-d what happens? When I disobey G-d (this is called sin) what happens?
Who was the most obedient Man ever to have lived? (helpful household hint..- He is still living today!)
Christ, the very Son of G-d, and Christ, G-d the Son, lived His thirty-three years here on this green planet as a (gasp!) man. The (only) perfect Man, (amen) the “second Adam.” Why did He do this? To show us, mule-headed, walnut-brained, religious sheep how to “do it.” “Follow me”- “do” as I do. Do it this way, y’all. (did Yeshua ever say “y’all?”)
There is another lesson (always “another” lesson, amen?) from the striking of the Rock. Moses the Intercessor did not need to strike the rock as the Rock had been already struck once. Christ (the Rock) has been crucified, “once for all.” The full wrath and fury of the Father (toward our sin) has been poured out in full upon the Crucified ONE. Yes,- Jesus paid it all- amen. There is no need of further atonement, there is no need for a second crucifixion, there is no need to strike the Rock a second time. Atonement and propitiation for sin has been accomplished, now “speak” to the Rock. Pray, intercede..- “ask, and you will receive.” Speak to the Rock, people. The veil of the temple has been torn in two (from top to bottom.) We (you and I) have access to the very heart of G-d and the well-spring of Living Water, the Ruach Hakodesh has been given. Ask Elohim to breath into your nostrils, the Breath of Life. “Ask” and you will receive. -Who said this? lol! G-d did! Read the book! Read and follow label directions. “It is written!” -speak to the Rock. Rest assured, we have access!
Carl,
At the risk of sounding argumentative, I would like to point out that your first statement about the instructions that were given is inaccurate, according to every translation I have ever seen. The instructions were given to THE MAN, because there was no woman as yet.
Is this fact worthy of note? Maybe only if you are a woman. 🙂
When you study the conversation that followed, she does not recite the command given to the man, but has an altered version of it. Where did she get that information? At the risk of sounding heretical, I submit that it is no more ridiculous to say that THE MAN told her that, than it is to say that THE CREATOR told her the command, because Scripture says neither.
Gayle, you’re right. God gave the command to Adam. Then He decided that Adam needed the ezer kenegdo to keep the command. But since Adam is standing alongside her when she converses with the serpent, it does seem odd that she doesn’t repeat the command as it was given AND HE DOESN’T CORRECT HER. Something else is happening here. Once again, we are back to Guardian Angel.
In listening to the responses to this daily commentary on Scripture, I am reminded of the games shows where 98% of the audience says- “George Washington was our first president.” What does this tell us?
Listen to the people, people. What are they saying? G-d always speaks to a human heart through a human heart. And remembering what a man (brother Skip) once said, (quoting another man), “to pray is to become fully human.” Is this what Yah is accomplishing in you and I? “LORD, teach us to pray?” Amen. (let it be/may it be so).
I love to pray. (I really do!) I love to spend time (yes, quality time) with the ONE I love, (and who loves me with I love I may never fathom). Where’s the bottom of tHis love? Where’s the top? It is limitless and lovely.
Do you feel the crush of the Ruach HaKodesh? It is a spiritual burden. A heaviness. A sigh, a sorrow, a sadness. Yeshua wept over Jerusalem.
In G-d we trust is our nation’s motto, but that is as far as it goes. It looks good on paper, but we are finding out it is not worth the paper it’s written on. We (as a nation) have wandered far from “in G-d we trust.” According to the bombardment of commercial advertisements on the HD box of lies, our new motto might as well be “in gold we trust,” and (as always) we will learn the hard way- our treasures on earth will not be the security, strength and succor we (all) need. Yeshua is our treasure. He (alone)is our portion, our Shield, our Strength, yes- our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend. – Don’t think for a minute this is a completed listing. Every moment of every day, we are in the process of delightful discovery, yes, like a kid at Christmas opening the presents of the new day, the Giver of every good gift bestows upon us. All that pertains to life and godliness, amen. Faithful Protector and Provider- our “Good (always good) Shepherd.”
Gayle, there is no risk of you ever “sounding argumentative” to me. I love to be corrected, by any source. It is truth I seek and yes, loving correction. Thank you sweet sister for being my “help” in this scenario.
It is both amusing and amazing to see “the blame game” being carried out at the inquiry of G-d. Fingers were flying pointing and attempting to lay blame upon the failure to obey G-d’s instruction. The final blame was laid upon the Serpent, and he didn’t have a leg to stand on!
So, “whose fault” was it? Was Adam to blame for this mess? (and sin is a mess, is it not?) Or was it Eve? And as the first couple, what did this do to the intimate marital harmony between he and she? “It’s all you fault!” “You did it!, No- “you!” What was that word again? Oh yes.. “Oy!!” – I wonder who the first one to say “oy!” was?
My conclusion? I’m gonna stick with scripture. “What saith the scripture?” is where I take my stand. When the word of G-d says- “all have sinned”- who am I to argue? I don’t have a leg to stand on either! I may have been born innocent (what a cute little baby I was)- but things for me didn’t turn out to well. I too, along with Adam, Eve and every beating heart since must say (confess) I too, have sinned and fallen short of the mark.
My heart rejoices when I read of the atonement (covering) Yah provided for the guilty pair. This is my focus, and this is my hope, that He also “has provided” an atoning blood sacrifice for my sin(s) also. Hallelujah for the cross! Thank you Savior, for loving me and thank you Gayle for pointing this out. Adam was the first to hear it. Did he share this with Eve, or keep the words of G-d to himself? Was he present during the temptation and did he “remember and speak” the words of the Creator? Was Adam “distracted” by the beauty and desirability of the fruit? Or was he so in love with Eve he knowingly decided to stay with her, even in judgment? Did love cloud his discernment? Did Yah know the first pair would sin?
I love the concept- “back to the garden.” Relationship was lost,(both vertically and horizontally) then relationship was redeemed and restored. G-d did provide Himself the Lamb. Do you believe we gain more “in Christ” than we ever lost “in Adam?” lol!- we do!!
It matters to God what we do, and it matters to Him what we say as well, especially in front of others.
From about the first time I read about this sin of Moshe and Aharon, I have wondered why the severity of the consequences did not seem to fit the sin. After all, look what they had to put up with in order to be used by God. Yet these two brothers were not allowed to proceed with the rest of the nation of Israel to the Promised Land. They were both buried on the ugly side of the Jordan.
As Skip has pointed out, the Hebrew meaning of “not believed Me” can be you have “not established” My “reliability”, My “trustworthiness.” In other words Moshe and Aharon, you have failed to sanctify Me, to set Me apart (notice what follows: “to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel”). Furthermore, notice where this failure to sanctify God begins, “and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, ‘Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock’” (v.10). Notice again, what he says, “…shall WE bring forth water” when it should have been, “shall HE bring forth water.” By saying this, Moshe and Aharon have changed God’s words and have set themselves up in God’s place. Now that sin is seen in all its clarity.
Indeed, Fred. Moshe and Aharon failed to give YHVH his due, and it cost them dearly. There is another aspect to this as well, hidden deeper in the story. Paul told us that “All our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Messiah”.
Yeshua said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and ask, and I will give him rivers of living water” (what is more precious in the wilderness than water?).
You’ll recall that there were two occasions when YHVH brought forth water from the rock – the first time, Moshe was commanded to “strike the rock”; the second time Aharon and Moshe were to “speak to the rock”. The lesson was supposed to be that “the Rock”, Messiah, was to be struck only once. After that, anyone was able to come and ask for the living water and it would be freely given.
By striking the rock a second time, Moshe not only failed to establish the absolute trustworthiness of YHVH, but he also corrupted the image of Messiah.
Good point Rodney; I had forgotten about what Paul said. Thank you – ’tis a shame that the importance of the details of this incident are not usually heard within the walls of most churches.
Shalom Skip, Thank you for todays word. I know I do not comment, but today this one spoke to me personally. It is a serious thing if we have been called and our character does not line up with the one who has called us.
I had to look at the whole belief thing and see that it goes much further than just “believing”. I looked at my own behaviour lately and saw that it has not been of the character of YHVH. The one I say I believe in and I say I follow…would not speak of HIM. I know that YHVH wants HIS character in me and has put me in situations to hone that…even when I thought it was about someone else or that I was there for them. In reality HE was perfecting HIS character in me.
This word showed me today that I have fallen short after all this time and the thing that grieves me most is I do not want to dishonour HIM. The thing I want most is to be more like HIM.
We can look at what Moses and haAron went through but it was not about them, it is not about us…it is about Yah, the one who has called us and believes we can do what He has asked.
I am still processing this one and looking at the connection between what Yeshua said about lack of belief and just believing…….
blessings for now
“How we accomplish what God asks is far more important than what we accomplish.” -Skip
How?… by sitting in the row boat, rowing forward towards the sound of rushing waters, with the wind at our back, the Son shining on our face, our eyes open to the past, living in the present, trusting Him for the unseen future….and all with a smile on our face and a joyous song He puts in our hearts.
This my friend I so deeply struggle with each and every day of my life. Oh the fight of the flesh.
This might be for you brother Tim,- this continues to be a blessing to me. Hope this helps:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6591377/31-Kings-Victory-Over-Self-AB-Simpson
– and to whom much is given, much shall be required..” (Luke 12.48)
We look upon the sentence pronounced upon Moses and Aaron and seem to say- “wasn’t that a bit harsh?” But this is not any Tom, Dick or Harry (sorry Tom,Dick and Harry..) – this is Moses, the same Moses who was received the tablets of stone upon the mountain. The same Moses whose face shone with the Shekinah glory of G-d. Moses knew YHWH. He had a long history with Him and saw (up close and personal) many, many miracles and confirmations of the compassionate, redemptive power of G-d. Would you have liked to be part of the crowd scene when the waters of the Red Sea parted and they crossed over on dry ground? Would that make a “believer” out of us? What about that night during the last of the ten plagues upon Eygpt, when the firstborn of every one whose doorposts were not annointed with Lamb’s blood were slain before the morning? Would that make a “believer” out of us? -And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'” Do we know anyone who has risen from the dead? Should we listen to Him?
At 70 years old I still feel like an infant. On the other hand the unlearning is more difficult than the learning. The question for me each day is “hath God said”. It started in the Garden it came again to the Son in the wilderness. Where will I contribute the “bricks” given to me each day. Will I build the Kingdom of G-d with them or contribute to building the kindgom of the evil one. (Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil “one:”. It is His kingdom, not mine, His power, not mine, His glory not mine. I had spent to many years in an attempt to leave a monument that people would remember me by after I was gone.
This is what Yahweh asks of you, only this, to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your G-d. Micah 6:5
Grant this Lord.
Thank-you Skip for sharing Ya’s holy words in spirit and in truth.Thank-you Janet for sharing your convictions and gut feelings.Thank-you John for helping me realize that at 64 I too am an infant and have gotten discouraged at all the “unlearning” I’ve done and still have to do.I was getting pretty exhausted.Blessings in Yeshua’s Wonderful Name…Baruch HaShem.
I forgot to thank and bless Gayle also.
It is a good reminder to think of how the Master told us that unless we become as little children…He knows our struggle and He is blessing us now. Hallelu Yah!
Hi Skip,
I have been very busy with work and kids, so while I wrote this note on my daughter’s birthday, am just mailing it today.
Hi Rachel,
I was very impressed to hear that you had joined the Navy.
At your age I was moving in the opposite direction, probably because my father was in the Navy.
And it no doubt had something to do with the “spirit of the age.” (late 60’s)
But now I can see the benefits that come from the experience of service in the military.
The physical and mental discipline.
It must be even more difficult for a young woman in boot camp.
My dad said it was very tough and he played middle linebacker in college football.
So I can’t really imagine what you must be going through.
I do know a lot about quitting; having quit jobs, school, and normal life a number of times.
But the moments that are most important to me now are the ones when the times were very tough.
And I did not quit; I stayed focused and got the job done.
Looking back, it now seems like Yahweh had it all planned out anyway.
In any case, what I did learn to do, when the going gets tough and very painful, was to focus on Yahweh.
To stay in the present, and listen to the sound of my breath: yah weh, yah weh, yah weh.
And to say the Lord’s Prayer.
That always works for me and I’ll pray that everything works out for the best for you.
Mike
Thanks Michael. Unfortunately, Rachel will not get this because she has no internet access until she leaves boot camp. She can only get snail mail.
SR MOEN, Rachel
Ship 3 Div 148
3600 Ohio Street
Great Lakes, IL 60088-3156
Hi Skip,
Sorry for the confusion, I meant “snail-mailed” today
With an Aruba Networks envelope
1344 Crossman Ave